Matia Bazar

Matia Bazar (Italian: [maˈtiːa badˈdzar, - baˈzar]) is an Italian pop band formed in Genoa in 1975. The original members of the group were Piero Cassano (keyboards), Aldo Stellita (bass), Carlo Marrale (guitar, vocals), Giancarlo Golzi (drums), and Antonella Ruggiero (vocals). They represented Italy in the 1979 Eurovision Song Contest with a song called "Raggio di luna". They are known for the quality of their female vocalists; after Ruggiero, vocalists included Laura Valente, Silvia Mezzanotte, Roberta Faccani, and Luna Dragonieri. Their major hits were "Solo tu" (1977), "Vacanze romane" (1982), and "Ti sento" (1985), which peaked on the charts in Belgium, Netherlands, and Italy. The group achieved several major successes, amongst which the win of two Sanremo Music Festivals in 1978 and in 2002.^[1][2]

Matia Bazar
Matia Bazar performing in June 2007. From left to right: Piero Cassano, Roberta Faccani, and Giancarlo Golzi
Background information
Origin	Genoa, Italy
Genres	Pop rock synth-pop new wave
Years active	1975–present
Labels	Ariston CGD
Members	Fabio Perversi Silvia Dragonieri Silvio Melloni Gino Zandonà Piercarlo Tanzi
Website	matiabazarofficial.com

Ruggiero and Marrale, the two main vocalists of the original line-up, left respectively in 1989 and 1994 to pursue solo careers. Main lyricist and bassist Stellita died in 1998 and drummer/writer Golzi in 2015. Cassano, the last original founding member, left in May 2017. As of 2024, none of the band’s original surviving members is part of the current lineup. The band is now led by keyboardist and multi-instrumentalist Fabio Perversi, who had joined in 1998 and has been endorsed by Cassano and Golzi to continue. According to Cassano, Matia Bazar "should survive to their original members".^[3]

Personnel

Current members

• Fabio Perversi – vocals, keyboards, violin (1998–)
• Silvia Dragonieri – vocals (2017–)
• Silvio Melloni – bass (2021–)
• Gino Zandonà – guitars (2021–)
• Piercarlo Tanzi – drums (2021–)

Past members

• Piero Cassano – vocals, guitars, keyboards (founder, 1975–1981, 1999–2017)
• Giancarlo Golzi – drums (founder, 1975–2015)
• Carlo Marrale – guitars, vocals (founder, 1975–1994)
• Antonella Ruggiero – vocals (founder, 1975–1989)
• Aldo Stellita – bass (founder, 1975–1998)
• Mauro Sabbione [it] – keyboards (1981–1984)
• Sergio Cossu [it] – keyboards (1984–1998)
• Laura Valente – vocals (1990–1998)
• Silvia Mezzanotte – vocals (1999–2004, 2010–2016)
• Roberta Faccani – vocals (2005–2010)
• Piero Marras – guitars (2017–2021)
• Paola Zadra – bass (2017–2021)
• Fiamma Cardani – drums (2017–2021)

Discography

• Matia Bazar 1 (1976)
• Granbazar (1977)
• Semplicità (1978)
• Tournée (1979)
• Il tempo del sole (1980)
• Berlino, Parigi, Londra (1982)
• Tango (1983)
• Aristocratica (1984)
• Melanchólia (1985)
• Melò (1987)
• Red Corner (1989)
• Anime pigre (1991)
• Dove le canzoni si avverano (1993)
• Radiomatia (1995)
• Benvenuti a Sausalito (1997)
• Brivido caldo (2000)
• Dolce canto (2001)
• Profili svelati (2005)
• One1 Two2 Three3 Four4 (2007)
• One1 Two2 Three3 Four4 - Volume due (2008)
• Conseguenza logica (2011)